Ruling Blocking Britain Exradition of Terror Suspect to US Upheld

The British government has failed to overturn a ruling by the European Court for Human Rights blocking the extradition to the United States of Haroon Aswat, a British terror suspect accused of conspiring with jihadist imam Abu Hamza.

In April, the court ruled that sending Aswat to the United States could worsen his mental health, violating his human rights. Britain’s request for reconsideration of the case was rejected by the court's Grand Chamber, meaning that Aswat cannot be extradited,the BBC reported Wednesday.

U.S. authorities allege that Aswat was involved in a plot to set up a Bly, Oregon, terrorist training camp with Abu Hamza, who was extradited to the United States for trial last year on terror-related charges.

Aswat, a former Yorkshire resident, was arrested in 2005 by British authorities following a U.S. extradition request. In 2008 he was transferred from prison to Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

In its April ruling in April, the European Court said his mental and physical health could significantly worsen in the "more hostile" environment of an American prison where he would have no support from family or friends, according to the Guardian.

It said that extraditing Aswat would breach his human rights, specifically Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment.

The British government has failed to overturn a ruling by the European Court for Human Rights blocking the extradition to the United States of Haroon Aswat, a British terror suspect accused of conspiring with jihadist imam Abu Hamza.